3 ways to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving alive all year long

Keep the spirit of Thanksgiving alive by showing kindness. Thanksgiving is here & it is time for [some of] us to make the trip to be with family, have great food & fellowship, & watch football [what’s with the F’s by the way?]. But there is also the often unmentioned aspect that is the source of it all – thankfulness.

Thankful for my soccer relationships

Some of you might be wondering how soccer & gratitude go together, but I wanted to take a moment this holiday season to address the gratitude I feel for my country, the families we serve at GFT, & the privileges I am afforded by living where I do. The people I am around teach me things you don’t even know. So many good families!

Current events

There are many events occurring in our world that are hard to comprehend based on our past as a people nation & I remain hopeful for our future. However, ugliness does exist outside America even more. In Pro football [soccer] stadiums across Europe, players are being racially abused with banana’s thrown at players and chants. The bottom line is that the governing organizations [the Federations, Clubs & FIFA] need to do more about it by not ever letting people like that in games again.

The power of soccer / futbol / football

Soccer has the ability to bring so many people together of different backgrounds. And many of the world’s emotions and core fiber play out on the pitch or near the stadiums. If love is a universal language, soccer is it’s translator. Soccer allows people to find a common passion that extends beyond social, racial or cultural differences to find shared interests, which in turn allows others to see the person for their individuality and nothing more.

If love is the universal language, soccer is it's translator. #socceristheuniversallanguage #elfutboleselidiomauniversal Click To Tweet

Big brands form anti-racism ads

FIFA has done more than many of the Federations, even though the responsibility has been left up to the Federation to educate and fix the problem fans. year ago now, some of the best players in the world stood up against it [EX] Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o, Rio Ferdinand & Ruud Van Nistelrooy got with NIKE to put out an Anti-Racism campaign with the black & white bracelets, which is great.

3 ways to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving alive all year long

After watching some documentary videos about Football & Racism, I first thought to myself, “How crazy some people are to act like this.” Then after seeing how some of the players react I also thought that the players shouldn’t let the fans bother them. These are professional athletes who get paid millions a year to perform on the pitch. My thinking was that they need to be stronger emotionally & not let the fans bother them, but when Clubs & Federations don’t do anything to stop this abuse there is a problem.

We play soccer to have fun

We play soccer to have fun; even though you might think some play for money it’s [usually] not true. Imagine if this abuse happened to youth players from parents on the sidelines. The abuse that some parents inflict emotionally is bad enough, and a topic frequently addressed on this blog, but to imagine the words [or worse] hurled at young ones is upsetting. So is this fair to happen to pro players? No! Soccer is a game of fun and these are kids who grow up to play because they love the game & all it represents and who have an unreal talent and/or drive; nobody deserves to be treated this way.

Discrimination is a part of life – it just goes by different names

But racism is a part of life isn’t it? Some people experience it every day and some never do, just depending on where they live. And it can take many forms & names. Yes, it’s wrong but we need to move on and be confident in who we are & surround ourselves with other people who are good-hearted & like-minded. I want everyone I know to be aware of racism in football for different reasons but for sure to just know what goes on and to know you are blessed to live in America because this is one of the Least Racist places in the World.

3 ways to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving alive all year long

Racism worldwide

I sometimes have conversation with people about current events in America and racism is sometimes one of the topics. I don’t think we need to hide from this issue. So when I say “Well in other countries like in Europe” [and the person that I’m talking to starts to nod their head, as if they think it’s so much better there] & I say “It’s worse in other Countries,” people looked at me like I am joking. BUT, after I share my stories, they learn how in many European Countries it’s not any better. England, Spain, Turkey, & Germany to name a few.

There’s good and bad everywhere

These are big tourist spots as well and after speaking to others who have traveled or even lived there, they want to disagree with me and say how they never experienced this there. But that’s the same as in America… I know people who are close to me and they don’t think racism is alive in America because they never see it. But this is my point: just because you don’t see racism happening around you doesn’t mean it isn’t alive today. It depends on who you are and what you do with your time in travel or work.

Wish list for racist people

First prayers that their hearts change. There will always be racism, but there are many people who are changing every day through education. People are stepping up and sharing stories to teach. All we can do is help change our corner of the world. That’s what I try to do anyway.

3 ways to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving alive all year long

What ya’ll know about those Texas boys?

I’m American and bi-racial, born in Texas but have lived in Colorado & Michigan as a child and then as an adult have lived in 13 cities worldwide Charleston, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Vancouver B.C., Toronto, Puerto Rico, Kingston Jamaica, Singapore, Denmark & now Dallas. I have now traveled to 20 total Countries, for which I am grateful. Through these experiences I’ve have been educated on what goes on outside of US soil.

These experiences have given me the opportunity to share this education with others about the topic. I have experienced racism in my life in & outside of America. So for the people who think there is no racism you need to really put yourself in others shoes and think on it. But at the end of the day we have to keep moving forward and leading by example.

Racism in futbol across the world

One example was in Kingston, Jamaica where I played for 3 months in my off-season with the Vancouver Whitecaps. My team was Portmore United, the defending champs in Jamaica & the Caribbean, so we competed in the CONCACAF Club Championships with the top 2 MLS teams, 4 Mexican teams and 3 Central American teams & us, the 1 Caribbean Club. Several games I played in Jamaica I was called a “bleep bleep white boy go *** your *****.” Coming from America where I was viewed more as black because my skin color is brown, being white & black was different for many reasons.

3 ways to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving alive all year long

Jeremie Piette playing for Portmore United, Jamaica

Experiencing racism by soccer fans abroad

For one, I never experienced a fan be racist to me in America my whole life, only a few players. Two, I was not being called a “white boy” in the states [haha]. But in Jamaica they are dark black & could tell I was mixed. So to try and get me off my game, they would say crazy things to me like “Ey white boy, foreigner you need to leave Kingston mon before we murder you boi, go ** **** ** *****” or other things would be said. The longer I lived there, the more I could understand too ha-ha. But it’s all an experience.

I knew it was more a thing to get my game down so their team could win, so I do understand that these fans say things to help their team. But racist remarks shouldn’t be a part of the game. I only experienced this a few times in soccer – but more in personal life – so I can’t imagine having this done to me every month for several years and nobody doing anything to stop it [or me being powerless to do anything to stop it].

So this is where I changed my view on how pro player handle the situation of racial abuse. After watching the documentaries, at first I just thought about what I would have done in the situation. But if you’re not put in someone else’s shoes you can’t really imagine or know how to act or feel.

Be aware of racism in soccer / football

Racism in a Pro Stadium should not happen but it does. The bottom line is that we need to all be aware of it. Fans, Clubs & Leagues need to be punished more! There are times where FIFA will not allow fans in the stadiums for several games but Clubs & Federations need to get more active.

3 ways to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving alive all year long

How to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving alive year-round

So this Thanksgiving, I encourage you to truly reflect on the blessings you have. Even with the challenges we face in America & worldwide, we have come so far! And by making one choice at a time to influence others positively. Based on what we have in common & not what we don’t understand, we have even more to carry forward into the year.